


Haikyuu Academia II

by kogasu_jiyu



Series: Haikyuu Academia [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: MHA! Haikyuu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28009194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kogasu_jiyu/pseuds/kogasu_jiyu
Summary: Season 2 of MHA’s events.
Series: Haikyuu Academia [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051499
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. Recap

_So!_

This will be the second season!

...I will try my best. I don’t think my writing is all that good so if anyone would like to drop times it’d be greatly appreciated.

if you’ve read my first part, **Haikyuu Academia, im extremely happy you chose to continue this train wreck.**

Ill probably post the first chapter...sometime. I need some time to sort everything out lol.

**Thanks for coming! Stay tuned!**


	2. Oikawa Tooru: Origin

Lev was the first to wake up.

He yawned, not bothering to change as he rolled around, feeling light hearted.

He stepped out of bed, walking to brush his teeth when he realized he was shorter. 

“What...?”

  
He looked at himself in the mirror. It was quite a difference: previously, he was 6”3-ish, but now, he’s almost Hinata’s height. 

He sighed, brushing his teeth and leaving the dorm. 

It was eerily silent. Normally, everyone would be hustling and bustling to class, but it was a day off.

One that was needed.

Lev felt uncomfortable pouring a bowl of cereal and breaking the quiet. He laid down on the sofa, his feet not dangling over the edge as they usually would’ve, and scrolled through articles on his phone. 

_ UA Heroes Ambushed! _

_ USJ Infiltrated! _

_ Former Rookies Gone Rogue? _

  
Lev gripped his phone tightly. _The media found out so soon..._

“Gah! Who are you?!” 

Lev looked up to see Tsukishima, face already curled in disgust. “That better not be you, Lev.”

“I used too much flesh yesterday, and I couldn’t make up for the losses.” Lev replied, standing up. He was only up to Tsukishima’s chest. “Now I’m short.”

“Hah.” Tsukishima chuckled, patting him on the head. “If you need help reaching anything, just ask me. But I might not be able to hear you down there.”

Lev looked away in annoyance. “I’ll do it myself, then.”

“Whatever. Where’s the flour?”

“For what?”

“Cake.”

“Pancakes?” Lev asked hopefully.

“No. Shortcake, like yourself.”

“Shut up!”

“What’s all this noise?” Futakuchi grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “Oh, it’s you. Who’s the kid?”

“I’m Lev!” Lev repeated. 

“Ha, you’re short now. Whatcha baking? Enough for everyone?”

Tsukishima didn’t turn to his senior as he dumped flour into a bowl. “Enough for me.”

“Asshole.” Futakuchi smirked, shoving Tsukishima away. “I’ll make pancakes for everyone.”

“I was awake first. Let me bake my cake!”

“Be nice, you damn four eyes!”

“Whoa, who’s kid is this?” Hanamaki asked, strolling into the room. He pointing at Lev. 

“Lev.” Tsukishima answered, throwing flour up Futakuchi’s nose. “Move!”

“Move yourself, stupid brat!” Futakuchi countered, dumping the cup of milk Tsukishima prepared on his head. 

A large gust of wind blew away the flour, staining the inside of the sink. 

Hanamaki sighed with a smirk. “How about I make something?”

Tsukishima turned away, rubbing his eyes. “I’ll be back shortly.”

“We’d prefer if you didn’t.” Futakuchi replied, but Lev shushed him. 

Hanamaki prepared a few eggs as he plugged in the rice cooker. “Rice over eggs. Carbs and protein, a perfect recovery meal.”

Lev and Futakuchi were silent as Hanamaki hummed to himself, washing the rice. 

“Are you not...disturbed?” Lev finally asked, staring down at his hands. 

Hanamaki looked up from the sink. “Disturbed? About what?”

“Those villains.” Futakuchi answered. He stared up at the ceiling. “They didn’t scare you?”

“Makki’s been through hell with us third years. We’re self taught, and we’ve had to deal with our friends trying to kill us.” Matsukawa replied, taking a seat next to Lev. He yawned as he slumped in his chair. “We saw Oikawa for the first time in three years yesterday. And I had to try and kill him.”

Lev thought back to the sight of Matsukawa, hand wrapping around Oikawa’s throat. He remembered that the villain had been struggling for life, the former friends not wanting to relent. “I see.”

“The mood in here is too dreary.” Daichi walked into the room, stretching his arms. “No one’s had critical injuries, so why are we all gloomy?”

“Hajime’s okay?” Hanamaki asked, cracking the eggs. 

Daichi nodded. “Yaku said it’s because his blood is naturally hot. When it becomes engulfed in water like that, it’s extinguishing his heated blood.”

“That’s dangerous, isn’t it?” Tsukishima asked, appearing behind Daichi. “Good morning, by the way.”

Daichi returned the greeting. “Good morning to you as well.”

Hanamaki waved, mixing the bowls feverishly. ” That’s just how his quirk developed. When he was younger—“

“He was always passing out from overheating.” Matsukawa finished, taking a bowl and distributing them out among the students. “Oikawa used to use Makki’s quirk to keep him cool.”

“Now he’s got a costume.” Futakuchi said. “Or really, a fancy headband. Sheesh.”

“Don’t diss his costume, snake-boy.” Hanamaki smirked, taking a seat and eating the food. “Eat up, kids.”

“As you wish, Hanamaki-san.” Futakuchi retorted, eating his rice steadily. “It doesn’t beat pancakes, but it’ll do.”

“Shortcake is better.” Tsukishima muttered.

Hanamaki laughed. “You two would’ve blown up the kitchen had I not stepped in.”

The six of them ate their breakfast, idle chatter floating about the table. One by one, the other students came out.

”Lev, you’re shorter than me now!” Hinata exclaimed.

”No I’m not! We’re the same height now!”

Inuoka laughed. “I didn’t realize your quirk had a drawback, Lev.”

”Neither did I!”

Yaku stepped into the dining room, his hair messy and his back slouched. He yawned.

”Everyone’s here. Should we make cake now?” Daichi asked the blonde. He scowled.

”Not everyone’s here.” Yamaguchi corrected, pointing at an empty seat. “Is someone still asleep?”

Slowly, the students stopped talking and stared at the empty seat. It didn’t take long to figure out the missing person.

“I thought you said Iwaizumi was fine.” Daichi said. 

Yaku turned to him, taking a long sip of milk. “He is, yeah. What’s the matter?”

“...where is he?”

“Resting.”

“But...he’s had over sixteen hours of sleep. Is he okay? He should be awake by now, right?”

“Yaku, is something wrong with Iwa?” Kuroo asked, putting his fork down and turning to his friend with an intense look. 

Yaku faces his friend, returning the intense gaze. “He is fine. I assure you.”

“Not very assuring.” Kiyoko responded. 

Hanamaki looked at Yaku. “There’s no point in hiding it. We’ll find out eventually.”

“He’s been having nightmares.” Yaku explained, letting out a breath. “He thinks everything is closing in on him.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Matsukawa said, standing up. “He can’t dream if he’s not sleeping.”

“No—wait! He needs rest!”

“Rest, shmest. He needs to get up and walk around”. 

Yaku shoved Matsukawa down. “Let him sleep, god dammit!”

“What’s gotten into you?” Tanaka cried, rolling up his sleeves. “Don’t touch him like that!”

“You’re obviously hiding something.” Kageyama added, reaching for the infirmary doorknob. Yaku swatted his hands away. 

“I promised Haji not to say, and I won’t! Now,  leave!” 

Everyone backed up when Yaku punched Tanaka in the gut. The second-year fell over, clutching his stomach.

“Whoa, calm down there, buddy.” Kuroo backed off, hands up in surrender. “We just want to help.”

“Well, you’re not helping. Now—“

Yaku felt his knees drop, gravity pinning him down to the floor. 

“If this is really such a trifling matter, let us explore.” Ushijima said simply, walking over Yaku. “It’s locked.”  


“I’ll blow it up. Move—“

”You’re out of your mind, Tora.”

”I got it!” Kogane said, grabbing a fork from the table. He placed it against the key hole, turning the fork into a replicate key. The door _clicked_ and it opened.

”Handy.” Kageyama muttered.

The rest of the students filed in, Yaku’s protests falling of deaf ears. 

Hinata looked around. 

It was a white room with two large windows, six beds prepared for injured students. Connected to the infirmary on the right was Kiyoko’s dorm, and to the left was Yaku’s dorm. 

  
“I’ve never been _here_ before.” Matsukawa muttered. Hanamaki looked a pink-inked pen.

All the beds were all empty. One bed was undone. 

Kuroo walked over to the bed slowly. “Yaku...where’s Iwa?”

Yaku bit his lip. 

“Yaku, speak!” Kuroo snarled, grabbing Yaku’s front. Hinata jumped, trying to pull off the older male from Yaku, but to no avail. 

“He’s—I—!” Yaku sputtered, and Kuroo dropped him on the ground. “He-he went to look for Oikawa!”

Hanamaki dropped the pen. 

Silence.

Matsukawa turned to him. “He _what_?”

“I-he told me at around three in the morning. I told him not to, but he said...he said that it was so important, and really, I tried, but...”

Kuroo silenced him with a sharp glare. “Quit blabbering, Yaku. I understand.”

”Guys, Iwaizumi _begged._ He...he got on his knees and begged for this. Do you really think he’d do something like that if it were something unimportant?”

Kuroo sighed angrily, but he knew Yaku was right.

“Does he know where Oikawa is?” Kageyama asked, hands clenched into fists. “I think I’d like to talk with him as well.”

“Oh no, we’re not letting you anywhere _near_ Oikawa.” Hanamaki said sharply, surprising the first year. “You’re insanely bad for his mental health.”

Matsukawa nodded. “Did Hajime say where he was going?”

Yaku shook his head. “He just left.”

“Left, huh? Sounds like him.” Kuroo groaned, tossing Matsukawa his jacket. “Makki, Mattsun, go. We don’t know Iwa’s mental state.”

“Roger that.” the pink haired male saluted, following him. Matsukawa looked behind him before leaving. 

“Ryu, Tora. If anyone follows us, stop them. This isn’t your business. Got it, you brats?”

They both nodded, turning to the group as their captain left the scene. 

“Move.” Kageyama snapped, trying to shove his way past the two second years, but Ushijima grabbed his shoulder.

“You’d do well to listen to your seniors.” He said gruffly, eyes cold. “This isn’t your business.”

Kageyama whipped around to face the group. “Do you even know what you’re saying?! I’m the reason he wanted to be a villain! _Me_! It’s all my fault!”

Everyone stared at him, Kageyama’s hurried breathing echoing around the white room. 

“Your fault?” Yaku asked. “How?”

Daichi put a reassuring hand on Kageyama’s shoulder. “Kageyama...I think you should relax.”

Kageyama’s hands shook.

Hinata looked at him, surprised.

_ Kageyama’s quirk revolves around his hands being steady.  _

_  
His hands shouldn’t be shaking, even if it was something as traumatic as this.  
_

_... _ _ what even was this? _

“Do any of you know why Oikawa became a villain?” Kageyama asked, every syllable ringing in everyone’s ears.

Slowly, everyone shook their heads. 

Kageyama clutched his head. “I suppose I should share. I’ve changed, I swear. Please don’t—“

“Kageyama.” Daichi said, nodding slowly. “Don’t defend yourself just yet.”

Hinata turned to his partner, heart aching. “Please, tell us.”

With a deep breath, Kageyama told his tale. 

————————

_ “My name is Tobio Kageyama.” _

_ Oikawa looked up lazily, pencil balanced on his nose as he looked up at the round-faced brat. _

_ Kageyama bowed, voice confident and firm. _

_ “I want to become the greatest volleyball player ever. The greatest setter.” _

_ Oikawa’s pencil hit the floor. “He—“ _

_ “Oi, Shittykawa. He won’t be taking your place.” Iwaizumi snapped, grabbing Oikawa’s bag. “Cmon, he needs to pass tryouts first.”  
  
_

_ Oikawa took a deep breath before nodding, walking to the gym. _

_ But Kageyama had passed. His sets were one hundred percent accurate and his passion, decision making, and serves were perfect.  _

_ Perfection should be impossible. _

_ Hanamaki glanced at Oikawa, quickly going to Oikawa’s side before he could break down. “Easy, easy.” _

_ “Perfection...?” Oikawa muttered breathlessly, eyes stuck on Kageyama. “That’s...there’s...” _

_ “Once we’re done here, we’ll be going to UA.” Matsukawa whispered. “Do you really want to waste your last year fighting this guy?” _

_ One of Kageyama’s serves hit the end line, bouncing off the wall and towards the third years. _

_ Oikawa ran over, picking up the ball. “Yahoo, Tobio-chan! Your skills are quite something! May I see your hands?” _

_ Puzzled, Kageyama let Oikawa touch just hands. They were smooth and well taken care of.  _

_ Oikawa felt a surge go through his body, and an aqua flower mark appear on Kageyama’s neck. Kageyama yanked his hand away, unsettled. _

_ “That’s cheating.” Oikawa said, his face blank. “You can’t be using your quirk.” _

_ Kageyama looked at him, dumbfounded. _

_ “Your quirk! You can’t use it during volleyball games!” _

_ “Quirk?” Kageyama asked. “I worked really hard for this. Don’t blame it on a quirk.” _

—————

“Wait!” Hinata interrupted, getting dirty glares from his seniors. “You—“

“I didn’t know.” Kageyama replied, continuing.

—————

_ Oikawa’s hands wrapped around Kageyama’s wrists. “Stop. You can’t.” _

_ Kageyama smirked arrogantly. “Is it because I’ll take your spot as setter?” _

  
_This prick..._

_ Oikawa could hear Iwaizumi’s screams, telling him to control himself. But he couldn’t. _

_ A blue flower blossomed on Iwaizumi’s neck as Oikawa’s hands lit up, and he slapped Kageyama. _

_ The power from Iwaizumi’s Heat Wave burned Kageyama’s face. The younger male screamed, a handprint-shaped burn already starting to blister. _

_ Oikawa ran at him again, but Iwaizumi held Oikawa back as Matsukawa and Hanamaki held back Kageyama. _

_ “What are you doing, you impulsive dumbass!” Iwaizumi cried, stopping Oikawa from moving. Oikawa was seething with anger, continuing to try and attack the new student. _

_ “You shouldn’t fight with our Captain.” Makki said, holding Kageyama in place. “And don’t say things like that to your senior.” _

_ Oikawa shook Iwaizumi off, but turned away from Kageyama. “Learn to control your quirk, or we’re going to have some serious issues.” _

_ Kageyama just glared at Oikawa, slapping Hanamaki away as he cleaned up the volleyballs. _

_ A week into the school year, they had a practice game against each other. Kageyama set for one team while Oikawa set for the other.  _

_ “Left!” the wing spiker called, but the bump was too high and too much to the right. _

_ ”Sorry!” the libero apologized. _

_ However, Kageyama got under it and set it perfectly, at just the right speed, to the spiker, who spiked it down and got the point.It wasn’t the winning point, but it was a heavy one. _

_ “It’s a quirk.” Oikawa grumbled, hands squeezing the ball as he walked to the end line to serve. “It’s not fair.” _

_ Iwaizumi looked at his teammate in concern. “Oikawa—“ _

_ But he had thrown the ball up, hitting Kageyama in the face. _

_ After the game, Oikawa didn’t bother waiting. _

_ “I’m done. I’ll see you tomorrow.” _

_ Oikawa’s towel blew away, and Matsukawa caught it.  _

_ Hanamaki sighed, drying his sweat with his own wind. “Oikawa, maybe you should see someone.” _

_ Oikawa tch’ed, turning away.  _

_ On Saturday, he went to see a hero. One that was famous for having a stress relieving quirk, and although it turned out to be a fake— _

“A fake?” Kuroo asked. ”As in, he lied for the money?”   
  


“Despicable.” Bokuto snarled, snapping a pencil in half.

_ “It’s just not fair.” Oikawa finished, tears on the back of his hands. _

_ “Uh huh. Very tragic.” he replied, typing up an email. “As a hero, you have to destroy your enemies. You have a quirk, yes?” _

_ Oikawa hesitated before answering. “Yes.” _

_ “Then you’re a hero. Defeat your enemies. Okay?” _

_ “Mhm.” _

_ The hero didn’t even say goodbye as he promptly sent Oikawa out, signing an autograph for a female receptionist. _

_ Destroy. _

_ Destroy. _

_ Destroy my enemies.  _

_ “Oikawa, can we...talk?” Iwaizumi asked, face gentle as he held Oikawa’s hand. The sun was just starting to rise as the duo walked to school. _

_ Oikawa looked surprised at the sudden kindness. “Of course, Iwa-chan. What happened?” _

_ “Come with me.” _

_ Iwaizumi led Oikawa to the bathroom, leaning him up against the wall.  _

_ “Iwa—?” _

_ Iwaizumi’s gentle demeanor faded, and he grabbed Oikawa by the tie. _

_ “What are you planning to do?” he growled, face twisted with fury. “Something is wrong with you. What are you planning?” _

_ “Planning? I’m not planning anything!” Oikawa exclaimed, trying to push Iwaizumi off. “Get off me!” _

_ “Are you going to hurt Kageyama?” _

_ Oikawa dropped his hands, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Maybe.” _

_ Iwaizumi’s fury turned to concern once more. “Oikawa...stop. We’re done with volleyball after this year, anyway. Let it go.” _

_ Oikawa turned away, wiping his tears away. “I won’t.” _

_”Won’t what?”_

_”Hurt...I won’t hurt Tobio-chan. I promise, on my life.”_

“He had lied.” Kageyama said, lifting his shirt. Yachi gasped.

There was a large scar. 

“Knife wound.” Yaku analyzed. “Three more centimeters, it would have cut your lung.”

“He stabbed me on the way home from school. He was with Iwaizumi, but it still hurt. The red...the red stained my hands...”

Yamaguchi pat him on the back. “Can you continue?”

Kageyama nodded shakily. 

_ “Oikawa!” Iwaizumi shouted in panic, punching his friend in the face without a second thought. He rushed over to Kageyama, writhing on the ground as the blade stuck in his body.   
  
_

_ “Iwa...chan...” Oikawa spluttered, reaching out for him.  _

_  
But the other male was preoccupied, calling an ambulance. _

_  
Oikawa was arrested. Because he was still a minor, he was let off, but everyone stayed away from him. Except for the other third years, of course. _

_ Oikawa never came to volleyball practice after that.  _

_ And on one day, the same day the hero he had seen was being invited to the school...he... _

“He didn’t.” Kiyoko gasped.

_ He committed suicide. _

_ That’s when I saw it: Hanamaki using Air Palm to send Matsukawa flying, and Matsukawa stretching out to catch Oikawa before he hit the concrete. Oikawa’s lifeless eyes staring into Iwaizumi’s, who had jumped out the window to get there faster.  _

“The freak duo.” Hinata whispered to himself, eyes wide.

“And...I never saw him again after that.” Kageyama finished.

Everyone stared at him.

“How is that your fault?” Nishinoya asked, perplexed. 

Kageyama glared at him. “I pushed him to that. Maybe indirectly, but—“

“That’s not your fault, you gigantic idiot.” Tsukishima said, but he wasn’t smirking. “It’s not worth it. It was his fault.”

”They were both wrong, in my humble opinion.” Futakuchi commented. “But killing is _never_ the way. Even _I_ know that.”

Aone nodded.

“Oikawa is at fault here.” Kuroo snapped angrily, standing up. “I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

“If I hadn’t been so clueless...so damn arrogant...he could’ve been a hero.” Kageyama said, his hands still shaking. “I should’ve apologized. I should’ve stopped. I should’ve done anything to keep him here.”

Yachi pat him on the head. “Stop, stop. It’s not your fault.”

“It is.” he repeated. 

Hinata slapped him. “It’s not.”

Kageyama glared at him angrily. “It is.”

“Not.”

“Is.”

A moment passed before they attacked each other, the two boys laughing as they fought in the infirmary, the other students smiling despite themselves as they pulled the two rookies off of each other. 

“Dumbass!” Kageyama shouted, giggling. 

Hinata smiled. “You’re the dumbass!”

Everyone in the dorms sat down, laughing, as the hands on the clock kept ticking. 

“Oikawa, huh?” Kuroo muttered to himself, looking out the open window. “Iwaizumi chose Kageyama, all for him.”

“A true rival, indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year!
> 
> Enjoy the first chapter of Haikyuu Academia!  
> Part 2


	3. Seijoh Reunion

Hanamaki stood by the edge of a building, scanning the area.  “Have you seen him?” 

Matsukawa gave him a thumbs down. “Nowhere in sight. Did he just run off, hoping to find him?”

Hanamaki leaned up against the chimney of a building. “He acts like the most mature, but he’s just as broken as Oikawa is. What if they’re together, huh? We can’t just rip Hajime away from him.”

“I want to talk to him too. We’re all former buddies, you know.”

“It’s just...so surreal. He just shows up, and he’s trying to kill us? What’s his game?”

Matsukawa stared at the open sky. “Will he be okay?”

Hanamaki smiled, despite himself. “Hell yeah. He’ll be fine.”

They both smirked at each other, the awful truth apparent.

If somehow, Iwaizumi found Oikawa,

He wouldn’t be fine.   
  


————————

Iwaizumi stopped, catching his breath as he hid underneath a tree at a local park. 

_Damn it, Oikawa!_ He cursed to himself, tightening his hand around the tree. The bark began to smoke. _Where the hell are you?_

“—Zumi! Iwaizumi!” 

He turned to see Hanamaki and Matsukawa, hopping on top of the nearby buildings. He bolted, running far away from his friends, into an alley covered by balconies. 

“God dammit—did they really chase me all the way here?” he panted, legs collapsing from all the running. He hasn’t stopped moving since he left, and his legs were failing him. “Thanks for nothing, Yaku.”

Iwaizumi sat down, his muscles sore and tense and weak. “What an idiot.”

“They’re looking for you.”

Iwaizumi looked up, his eyes widening.

Oikawa moved swiftly, pinning Iwaizumi up against the wall by the throat. 

“All that running’s made you sweaty, right, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa said, eyes cold but a sweet grin on his face. “I’d imagine you’d barely be able to burn me.”

Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi’s face after his insult, his heart hardening and his smirk fading.

Tears were forming in Iwaizumi’s eyes, not even attempting to fight back. 

“Why...did you...?” Iwaizumi croaked, his tears dripping on to Oikawa’s hand. The brunette’s grip just tightened, causing Iwaizumi to cough. 

“Only when I leave do you seem to care, huh?” Oikawa growled bitterly. “When I was stuck trying to do something I truly loved—you think I wanted to be a hero?”   


He laughed coldly, a blue flower mark forming on Iwaizumi’s neck. Oikawa’s hands began to smoke. “I never wanted this quirk. I just wanted to play something— _volleyball_ —the game I love. But because I had a quirk, I just _had_ to be a hero right? Because I was going to quit volleyball that year, I just _had_ to surrender to that cheat of a setter, right?”   


Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi’s neck with both hands, the skin in Iwaizumi’s neck starting to burn. Iwaizumi grunted in pain, trying to pull Oikawa off of him, his own Heat Palm barely tickling Oikawa’s wrist. “Well, to hell with your expectations! To hell with your assumptions! _To hell with heroes!_ ”

  
Iwaizumi dropped his hand, letting his friend’s fiery grip slowly burn him alive. 

Oikawa jumped back suddenly, a thin bullet of wind piercing the air around him. 

  
Iwaizumi collapsed, his neck skin charred. He struggled to breathe as he coughed, but his burnt neck was making it painful to even breathe.

“Hajime!” Matsukawa exclaimed in relief, helping him stand. “I thought we lost you.”

Hanamaki thrusted his hand forward, creating a spiral of wind. The garbage in the alley flew around, and Oikawa got pushed back, farther away. 

“If it isn’t my fellow third-years.” Oikawa smirked, his hand crackling. He frowned as the sparks faded, along with Iwaizumi’s strange mark. 

“Oikawa, so nice to see you again.” Matsukawa grinned, waving as he threw Iwaizumi over his shoulder, careful to avoid his neck. “As much as I’d like to catch up with you—over breakfast, preferably, it’s only nine thirty—our friend is in dire need of assistance. I’ll beseeing you.”

“Bye bye, Mattsun!” Oikawa waved, a stupid smile on his face as he waved to his friend innocently. Hanamaki shot one more bullet of air, but Oikawa faded into the shadows. 

“Get him to Yaku, hurry.” Hanamaki cried, chasing after Oikawa. Iwaizumi let out a little wail, but he didn’t move. 

Hanamaki zipped around the next corner, slamming into a pedestrian as he tried to chase Oikawa. 

“Hanamaki-san?” the walker asked, and the senior looked up. 

Hanamaki rubbed his head in confusion. “Kunimi? What are you doing here? I thought I told Tora and Tanaka not to let anyone leave...”

“I was able to sneak by them. They’re easily distracted, you know.”

“Fair enough. But—ah, forget it. I lost him.”

“...sorry. We’re you chasing a villain?”

“It’s fine.” Hanamaki said, patting his junior on the back. “Let’s get back to UA.”

Kunimi nodded, following the older male back to school. 

  
_Damn it!_ Hanamaki hissed to himself, hands clenching into fists. _I was...so close..._

Kunimi glanced at his senior, a pained expression on his face.    
  


He smiled.


	4. Number 25

The class raided the infirmary.

”Keep it down!” Lev whispered, having shrunk another inch.   
  


Iwaizumi laid down on a cot in front of Yaku and Lev, pale mush surrounding his neck. A red plus-sign was on Yaku and Iwaizumi’s forehead, and Yaku stood at his side.

  
“Is he going to be okay?” Daichi asked.

Yaku bit his lip, trying to ignore the pain of his neck being burnt. Lev had thrown as much flesh as he could spare on to Iwaizumi, but the effects were slow. 

“He’ll be fine.” Yaku responded, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Just needs time.”

“Lev must have used a lot of flesh this week.” Kiyoko stated, looking at Lev’s small body. “Will he turn back normal?”

Yaku nodded. “By tomorrow, probably. He needs rest. Like, actual rest.”

“I’ll be good as new!” Lev said, smiling, but his face was still grim. “This is really bad, Yaku-san...”

“Do your best, Lev.” Yaku replied, gritting his teeth. “The neck is really sensitive, and usually by the time I get there they’re dead. It really hurts...”   
  


“What’s that plus sign?” Kindaichi asked.

”It let’s Yaku-san absorb pain.” Lev answered immediately. “He can place up to ten and absorb a lot of pain at once.”

”Shut it, Lev.”

“Ice?” Aone offered, and Yaku took Iwaizumi’s headband and wrapped it around his neck. He took a few deep breaths before focusing back on Iwaizumi.

”Captain!” Kageyama exclaimed, and Yamaguchi shushed him.   
  


“Is he okay?!” Hinata asked, trying to get to his side. Ushijima kept him at a distance as the student stared at his teacher, wide-eyed in horror. “He’s...”

”He’ll be better by tomorrow, maybe even tonight. But please, you guys can’t hover over him.” Yaku said calmly, giving Daichi a _please get everyone out of here_ look. The male nodded.   


Outside, Hinata clenched his fists. “Is Oikawa-san that far gone, Kageyama?”

Kageyama stared blankly at Iwaizumi through the cracks of the door.  


The senior had been brushed with death, twice in the span of 24 hours, by the same man who made a pledge of friendship to him. 

“He is.” Kageyama said, looking away. “He is.”

——————

Oikawa downed his third cup of orange juice. 

“This wouldn’t be a problem if you didn’t add alcohol.” Akaashi told him, clearly irritated. “What happened? You were just going for a walk.”

“Did you run into a hero?” Kita asked, flipping through a page in his dictionary. “You seem to be in good shape.”

Atsumu laughed. “He probably ran into his ex-boyyyfriend.” 

Oikawa glared at Atsumu, red-faced from the alcohol. His hair dropped down as he slurred, “Iwaaaaa is not my ex boyfriend.”

“Whatever you say, lover-boy.”

“Stop the useless chatter.” Shirabu snapped, walking through the door. “I bought enough food for the next week. You’re welcome.”

” _Someone’s_ in a pissy mood. What, did, Shira-buuu miss his naptime?” Tendou cooed. He laughed in surprise as Shirabu tried to backhand him.

“Did you get any apple pie?” Kenma asked quietly, unpacking the bags. 

“Nope.”

“But...I asked...”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t get it.”

Semi tossed the bread on the counter. “They were sold out. Shirabu, quit picking on Kozume.”

Kenma turned away. “Jerk.”

“Closeted weirdo.” Shirabu shot back, but Tendou shooed him away from Kenma. 

“Let’s not do something dumb.” he said, ruffling the younger male’s hair. “Also, don’t bully Kenma.”

“Hmph.” He bit into an apple. 

“How’s Suga?” Osamu asked, snatching away Oikawa’s fifth cup. “You’ll kill yourself.”

Oikawa hiccuped with a hazy smile. “Maybe I want to dieeee.”

“Suga is doing fine. He’ll be okay.” Akaashi answered, ignoring Oikawa. “Someone take this to him.”

The raven slid an orange bottle down the counter. Osamu caught it, eyes widening curiously.

“Give him four. We won’t have to feed him if he’s out longer.”

“Fair enough.”

Osamu turned to the sixth room on the right, bottle in his hand.

”Special delivery, my friend...”

—————

“Iwaizumi is fine, so we’ll be having normally scheduled class tomorrow.” Daichi announced, the sun setting through the large window in the living room. Kindaichi spat out his water. 

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been to a class...” Kunimi muttered. 

Yachi nodded. “With everything that happened, we haven’t had much educational time.”

”Educational?” Kiyoko repeated, chuckling lightly.

“Do we really need a class to explain what’s going on?” Matsukawa asked. 

Daichi’s face heated up. “I—uh. I guess not...”

Tsukishima groaned. “What are we doing now?”

Hanamaki coughed, patting Ushijima on the back. “Tell ‘em.”

“We are going to be having our annual UA Sports Festival.” Ushijima announced monotonously.

The students were silent.

Bokuto shook his head. “Be more excited, Ushiwaka!” Bokuto spread his wings out, the silvery feathers shining in the setting sun. “Hey hey hey! We’ll be having our annual UA Sports Festival!”

Cries broke out around the table.

“But that’s—totally normal!” Yamaguchi exclaimed in relief. 

Hinata looked excitedly to Kageyama. “A festival?! Kageyama! Isn’t that cool!”

“Not really. Festivals...are childish.” he responded, trying to Keep a serious face. His smile was poking out, though.

”Is it that time of year already?” Nishinoya cried, jumping on to Inuoka’s shoulders.

“Not just any Sports Festival, mind you.” Kiyoko interrupted, shushing the students. “We will all be participating. This will be a good chance for you to show the community that you are growing here at UA.”

Goshiki looked at Kiyoko. “The community?”

Yaku nodded. “All of Tokyo will be coming to watch. Put on a show for them.”

Hinata’s jaw dropped. “A-all of Tokyo?”

“Sounds like we have our work cut out for us.” Nishinoya smiled, punching his fist in his hand. “I’m not going to lose to any of you!”

“Is Iwaizumi-san in any condition to fight?” Yamamoto asked. “He’s seriously injured, right?”

“What makes you think it’s just going to be fighting?” Kuroo asked smugly, and Lev looked at him. “It’ll be split into three parts—we all know what they are, but you first years will have to wait and see.”

“That’s not fair!” Hinata protested. 

“Life isn’t fair.” Kageyama snapped. “I’m not going to lose to you, by the way.”

Hinata grinned. “I won’t lose, either.”

The table was filled with intense glares and grins. 

“It’ll be next week. You guys have a few days to prepare, so I suggest spending your time wisely.” Daichi said, looking at a list of paper. “All twenty-five UA students will be participating.”

Tanaka looked up from his food.

Koganegawa was quick. “Twenty-five?”

“There’s only twenty-three of us here.” Inuoka counted. “Iwaizumi is in his room, so there’s only twenty four, isn’t there?” 

Kunimi’s face scrunched up at the same time Daichi’s did. 

“Right. It’s not very relevant, but there’s a support course here in UA.” Daichi explained. “It only has one student.”

“Asahi...Azumane, was it?” Yamaguchi questioned. Daichi nodded. “I applied for support course, but I was rejected. He told me I had a good quirk for heroism.”

“What a baby.” Daichi muttered.

“Asahi used to be part of the hero course.” Yaku said, looking at his profile. “He’s insanely strong, but he left after Sugawara ran away.”

The students tensed up, but they got over it quickly. 

“Right. Anyway, he’ll be joining us.” Daichi finished. 

“Also, this isn’t a team activity.” Kuroo mentioned. “You can only rely on your own skill.”

Tsukishima looked at Kuroo, who smiled. 

Bokuto clapped his hands. “And with that, go to bed. You’re free to do whatever after class tomorrow.” 

Hinata stood up, rushing to his room. 

_ What I need is sleep, food, and practice. I won’t lose to anyone here! I’ll be the greatest hero! _

“Hero, huh?” Kunimi muttered to himself; watching Hinata run off. “He’s lucky to have a power quirk.”

—————

At two pm, the bell rang. 

“Kageyama! Help me train!” Hinata asked excitedly, but the taller male scoffed.

“I wouldn’t benefit from training with you.” Kageyama responded, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “Besides, we have different quirk-types.”

“I’ll train with you, Shoyo!” Inuoka called. Hinata turned around with a smile.

“Really? Thanks!”

Kageyama watched as his partner dashed away. “Hmph.”

Goshiki walked up to him, dropping a ninja star on his desk. “Kageyama, train with me?” 

Kageyama got up. “Sure.”   
  


The training grounds was a large, outdoor facility with white circles that were used as arenas, as well as punching bags and a three-hundred meter track. A large cherry blossom sat in the middle of it all, a dark oak bench under it.

Kuroo grinned, sinking into the bench. Look at all the kids training.”

“It’s great, right?” Yaku replied, leaning against the tree. “Any thoughts on who’s going to win?”

“Not any of them, that’s for sure. Shrimpy over there might make it to the quarterfinals. Maybe the semifinals if he’s lucky.”

Yaku thought carefully. “I don’t see any of Kiyoko’s students making it past round one. Is that too harsh?”

“Not at all.” Kiyoko interrupted, and Yaku stiffened up. 

“I didn’t mean anything—“

She shook her head. “Right now, my students lack the power and the strategy in order to pass. They’ll learn over time.”

Yaku let out a sigh of relief. “Exactly.”

“Anyone here want to train?” Matsukawa challenged, walking over. “Makki’s a boring partner.”

“I could say the same to you, Mattsun.” Hanamaki retorted. “The offer stands on my end, too.”

“I’ll fight you, Makki.” Yaku accepted, throwing his sweater to the side. “I won’t lose like last year.”

“Uh-huh, we’ll see.”

“I’ll train with you, Matsukawa.” Kiyoko said, and Matsukawa smiled.

Kuroo chuckled as his companions went off to train. 

“Hey hey, Kuroo! Have you seen Ushiwaka? He said he’d train with me!” Bokuto inquired, skipping over to him. “He never trains with us, so it’s going to be a challenge!”

“I’m right here.” Ushijima answered, emerging from the corner. “I won’t hold back.”

Bokuto smirked. “I’d feel insulted if you did.”

  
_Is it me, or did the temperature just drop like thirty degrees?_

Kuroo shuffled away.

“Kuroo-san.” Tsukishima muttered, walking up to his captain. “Will you...um...train...with me?”

Kuroo paused, then pat him on the head. “Of course I will, Tsukki! Let’s get right down to it!”

“Please don’t call me that.”

Yamaguchi stopped in his tracks as he saw Tsukishima walk off with Kuroo. “Aw...missed him.”

“I’ll train with you, Tadashi!” Kogane exclaimed, and Yamaguchi jumped in surprise. 

“Really? Thanks so much!” 

Kunimi fell to the ground as Kindaichi pinned him to the ground, out of breath. 

“I...got you.” He panted, keeping Kunimi’s arm behind his back.

Kunimi glared at him. “That’s what I want you to think.”

He threw his legs back, hooking on to Kindaichi’s shoulders.

“Hey, what the—“

Kunimi broke free from his grasp, grabbing Kindaichi’s hair and slamming him on to the ground. “You should never underestimate your enemies.”

“Hey—that hurt! What was that for?!”

“I’m training you. You should be more aware.”

Aone listened carefully, walls surrounding him. Futakuchi tapped him on the back of the neck.

“Your right side mostly exposed. You should be weary.” Futakuchi commented, patting him on the back as all the walls vanished.

Aone nodded.

Nishinoya threw a punch at a sandbag. “Like this! Make sure to extend your arm and put some power into it!”

Yachi copied the motion. “Like this?”

“Yeah! Now do that fifty more times!”

“F-fifty?”

“Yeah! On each arm!”

Yachi looked bewildered, but her despair quickly turned to motivation. “Right!”

Tanaka and Tora both sparred with each other, sparks flying from their ring. 

“Your punches are WEAK!” Tanaka cried, hooking Yamamoto in the face. 

He wiped his lip and countered with a punch. “So are yours!”

“Hey, do you think they’ll kill each other?” Daichi asked, a silhouette emerging from the corner.

Iwaizumi sat down. “No. They’re determined, but they know their limits.”

They both looked at their students.

“Hey—“

“I’m fine, Daichi. I’m fine.”

Iwaizumi was a little pale, with faint black bags over his eyes. His neck was a lot darker than the rest of his body, but his arms were still a little shaky. His breathing was a little harsher than usual, but overall he looked okay. 

“If you say so.” Daichi sighed. “Did you eat?”

Iwaizumi snorted. “I can cook for myself, Daichi. I can do anything I could’ve before.”

“Then get up and fight me.”

Iwaizumi smiled, standing up. “Gladly.”

Hinata swept Inuoka’s feet from under him, but the taller male dodged and tried to kick downwards. Hinata jumped back, bumping into someone.

”Ah! I’m sorry!”

Hinata jumped back in surprise. _He’s huge!_

The man wore an athletic band that kept his long, wavy hair pushed back. He had a gentle look in his eyes, but his aura was menacing.

”Hero course...? Is Daichi here?”

“Why?” Inuoka asked, defending Hinata. “What business do you have with Sawamura-san?”

The older man looked at him, caught a little off-guard. “I—uh, this is for him. If you don’t feel comfortable, just take this to him.”

Inuoka took the box, not taking his eyes off the stranger. 

“Asahi!” Nishinoya cried, grabbing everyone’s attention. The man covered his head as Nishinoya jumped on it. 

“What brings you down here?” Hanamaki asked, pinned down to the floor by Kiyoko. His students glared at him, jealousy in their eyes.

Asahi looked at Inuoka.

“He had this box.” he answered, opening it. There were white headbands and a stack of paper. Lev’s face was on the top sheet.

“Asahi? The support course student?” Yamaguchi asked. “I didn’t expect you to look like...that.”

Asahi chuckled, rubbing his head. “I get that a lot.”

“Hey, Asahi!” Hinata asked, jumping up. “Are you strong?”

Daichi looked at Asahi. 

Iwaizumi gave Asahi a look. 

“Uh...no.” he whispered, looking away from Daichi and Asahi. “I’m not all that strong.”

“Yeah, right!” Nishinoya shouted, but Tanaka slapped a hand over his mouth. 

“Fight me, please!”

Everyone looked at Hinata, who had a starry look in his eyes. “I want to judge for myself.”

“You wanna get steamrolled, you little punk?” Yamamoto hollered, but Matsukawa smiled. 

“No no, let him fight. I want to see.” Bokuto stepped out of the ring. “Use this.”

Asahi looked at the ground, stepping slowly into the circle that was made on the field. Hinata stood across from him. 

“If you fall out of the ring, you lose.” Ushijima instructed.

Daichi he bent down low to Hinata. “Are you sure about this?”

“I want to see as many quirks as possible, and become the greatest hero.” Hinata responded, smiling. “And I want to win.”

“Stubborn little...” Tsukishima started, but Kuroo shushed him.

“You can go first.” Asahi offered, and Hinata dashed ahead. The older man’s eyes went wide. 

He stepped to the side, but Hinata planted one foot before the border and jumped back at him, but Asahi dodged again. 

“Is it a reaction quirk?” Kageyama asked, but Yaku shook his head. 

“Asahi is a great fighter. Hinata’s speed—it seems fast to you, but to most of the third years, he’s moving only a little faster than what we’re used to.” Yaku explained, watching Asahi dodge another attack. Yaku hung his head in remembrance. “We don’t want to die. By living through different attacks, we can teach new heroes how to avoid them.”

Kageyama nodded, watching Hinata scuttle around but not able to land an attack on Asahi.

“Say...what is his quirk?” Kindaichi muttered, and Kunimi shrugged his shoulders.

“Aren’t you gonna fight back?” Hinata asked, skidding to a stop and balancing himself with his hand. 

Asahi shook his head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“We have a healer this year, you big softie!” Matsukawa shouted. 

“Yeah, beat him up!” Hanamaki added. Daichi sighed.

Asahi looked from Daichi, to Hinata, to his hands. “If you say so. I’m sorry!”

Hinata ran again, aiming for Asahi’s face, when Asahi took a deep breath and clapped his hands, hard.

A huge sonic boom stopped Hinata in midair and shattered his ear drums. He went flying across the field, slamming into a tree and slumped over, not moving. 

The watchers tried to cover their faces from the force of the attack, but the wind created by the sonic boom was unrelenting. Many of the first years fell over. 

When the force finally calmed down, everyone scurried over to Hinata. He still was unresponsive.

“Is he okay?!” Asahi asked worriedly.

“He’ll be fine, so don’t worry about him.” Daichi reassured. “We’ll take care of him.”

“I’m sorry—“ 

“Don’t apologize.” Iwaizumi snapped. “He challenged you, so he was asking for that.”

“But still—“

“Remind me why you swapped out?” Kuroo chirped, putting an arm over Asahi’s shoulder. “You were still able to blow shrimpy over there away after not fighting for so long.”

“I—“

“Oi, Lev! He needs help!” Yaku cried, and the first year ran over. He put flesh over Hinata’s ears, like earmuffs.

“That’s so—“

“Why don’t you come back to the hero course?” Daichi asked, and Asahi quickly shook his head. 

“I could never do that.” he responded, walking away. “Anyway, I have more tinkering to do, so I’ll be off.”

Nishinoya watched as Asahi stalked back to the building, rubbing his hands. “He’s just scared, isn’t he.”

Daichi nodded. “He’s scared of Suga.”

“Of Suga?” Kunimi questioned.

“When Asahi first ran into Suga as a villain, Suga was trying to provide for himself so he robbed a local store. Asahi... he was scared of hurting him. Suga hospitalized him for three days, and then sent himself to the support course.” Daichi explained. “He’s been there since the beginning of this year. He hasn’t ever thought about coming back, because he’ll end up fighting someone he cares about.”

“He’s cowardly, that’s what it is.” Yamamoto criticized. “A villain is a villain.”

“Would you be able to fight me, or Mattsun, or Ryu?” Hanamaki asked. Yamamoto stayed silent. “I don’t blame him. He cares for everyone in UA.”

“Maybe a little too much.” Iwaizumi grumbled. “Let’s get Hinata to the infirmary. Everyone else can continue, but be in the dorms before sundown.”

The students nodded, and returned to sparring as Iwaizumi helped Yaku and Lev get Hinata into the building.

“He really hasn’t changed.” Kunimi sighed, turning back to Kindaichi. “Run that by me again.”

—————

“Asahi, I want to see your strength for myself.” Hanamaki smirked. 

Asahi groaned. “What is up with your class? I don’t want to fight. Did you know Nishinoya came down here yesterday? I sent him to the infirmary!”

“Yeah, but I’m a third year! I can handle myself.”

“I...really don’t want to. I’ll fight you during the tournament, if I make it that far.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now fight me.”

“What? I just said—“

“Yes means yes!” Hanamaki grinned, dragging him outside. “I want to see if my Air Palm can match your Sonic Boom.”

“Stoppppp. No means no.”

“It’ll be fine—what, you think I can’t handle myself?”

“That’s not what I—“

Kunimi stepped into the classroom. “Excuse me, but you’re making quite a racket. It’s only four AM.”

“What brings you up here?” Hanamaki asked. “it’s only four AM.”   
  


”Hanamaki-san? Is that you?” Yachi asked, poking her head in the room. “Please don’t puninsh Kunimi—he was helping me build stamina!”

Kunimi wrinkled his nose at the sound of her voice. “I—we were going for a jog. The tournament’s coming up, after all.”

“Really? Let me join you.”

“No.”

“Aw, why not?”

“Because I don’t want to be with you right now.” Kunimi answered, walking past the classroom. “Anyway, you’ve already woken me up. Please don’t make much noise.”

Yachi waved, jogging down the stairs with Kunimi.

Hanamaki and Asahi watched as the rookie continued on. “What a strange kid.” Asahi commented. “And he’s right. Let’s lower our voices.”

“So you don’t want to fight?” Hanamaki teased. 

“No.” 

“Suit yourself. Bye.” Hanamaki stuck up a peace sign as he left. 

Asahi sighed, putting a glove-like gadget into a bright-yellow bin. 

“The hero course are a funny group, huh?”


	5. Roaring Sports Festival

Hinata put on his athletic uniform, a blue tracksuit with a white “UA” on the front. He took a deep breath, putting his bag in his locker.   
  


Kageyama stuffed an onigiri in his mouth, washing it down with ice water. “Scared?”

”You wish.”

”I heard there’ll be scouts at this festival!” Kogane informed, taking his shirt off. “Won’t that be cool?!”

Goshiki scoffed. “Scouts? For what? People _hate_ quirks, you know.”

”Maybe they’ll ask us to take out thieves, or defend their property?” Yamaguchi guessed, tying up his messy hair. “Like a bodyguard.”

Tsukishima adjusted his glasses. “Who’s going to want a bunch of freaks like us?”

The students turned their attention upwards as a large siren went off.   
  
  


Hinata stood up, hand on his chest. “I’m ready.”

Inuoka nodded, Lev next to him. “Don’t be scared, Shoyo!”

The first years emerged from the locker rooms, walking into a small hallway that led to the starting area. The third and second years awaited them.

“It’s time for the UA Sports Festival!” Daichi announced, voice echoing in the chamber. “Guys, are you ready?”

“Yes!”

“Hello? Does this mic work? Jesus Christ, were freaking high up!”

“Tanaka, relax! We’re not that high! Oh, the mic’s on.” Two taps were heard. “Hello! I’m Akiteru Tsukishima!”

“I’m Saeko Tanaka! And we’ll be your announcers for this year’s UA Sport’s Festival!”

The crowd clapped. 

“Why is he here?” Tsukishima grumbled, pushing up his glasses. 

“Akiteru-san? He’s really nice!” Yamaguchi said. He turned to Hinata and Kageyama’s confused faces. “Ah, Akiteru-san is Tsukki’s older brother.”

Nishinoya pat Hinata on the back. “Don’t worry! You have a cool quirk, so you’ll be fine!”

Hinata took a deep breath. “R-right!”

”Let is introduce our students for this year!” Saeko cheered. Daichi gave the signal, and the students piled out two by two.   
  


“Third years, Daichi Sawamura! Hajime Iwaizumi! Kuroo Tetsurou! Bokuto Koutarou! Ushijima Wakatoshi! Hanamaki Takehiro! Matsukawa Issei! Kiyoko Shimizu!”

Kiyoko waved politely to the crowd as the seniors walked into the grass field.

”Second years, Ryuunosuke Tanaka! Nishinoya Yuu! Aone Takanobu! Futakuchi Kenji! Taketora Yamamoto!”

“Are they staring at me?” Yachi squeaked, and Kunimi chuckled.

  
“First years, Yachi Hitoka! Hinata Shoyo! Goshiki Tsutomu! Tsukishima Kei! Yamaguchi Tadashi! Koganegawa Kanji! Yuutaro Kindaichi! Kunimi Akira! Kageyama Tobio! Inuoka Sou! Haiba Lev!”

Hinata looked around. “Do you see another orange-haired child?”

”Nope.” Lev answered. “The only one I see is you, Hinata.”

All the students stopped in the field, turning to face the large, sky-blue stage in the center. 

“Hello, hello.”

All the students looked up. 

A middle-aged man with flat black hair and glasses smiled. “I’ll be the instructor for the first competition. My name is—“

“Shimada-san!” Akiteru cried over the speaker. Many of the audience members covered their ears. “It’s been so long!”

“Shut it, Tsukishima!”

Tsukishima cringed.

Makoto chuckled. “I guess I don’t have to introduce myself. The first competition will be a race.”

“A race?” Kageyama asked, loud enough for Makoto to hear. 

“A race. Once around the school.”

“That’s too easy!” Goshiki cried.

Makoto chuckled again. “There’s more to it.”

A map appeared on the electronic screen behind him. “You’ll have to get past these: a robot field...”

A large robot appeared on screen. The audience began chattering loudly. “A tightrope over a cliff...”

Tsukishima scowled. 

“And finally, a minefield! None of the bombs are harmful, by the way. You have one hour to finish.”

“One hour?!” Yamaguchi exclaimed, despair in his voice. “That’s not enough time!”

”Sure it is! You’re all heroes, aren’t ya?” Shimada laughed, stepping away from the mic. “But first, we have a few special words from your class speaker.”

Hinata looked at Kindaichi in confusion. “Class speaker?”

Kindaichi held up his hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me.”

Ushijima walked to the stage, holding the mic gently.   
  


He cleared his throat, eyes crystalline. ”Let us all try our best. But, know that I will not lose.”

Iwaizumi smiled. “Confidence is good.”

”He’ll eat those words.” Daichi threatened.

Shimada clapped his hands. “Let’s get ready to begin! Students, at the starting line!”

“Wait, we start now? Right away?!” Yachi squeaked, and Kiyoko walked her over to the starting line.

“Don’t forget to breathe.” she advised, taking position.

“R-right.”

  
“You’ve trained the whole week on stamina.” Kunimi said, striding past her. “Even if you don’t win, I made sure to work you hard enough to pass.”

Kindaichi looked at his friend, a weird smile on his face. “You’re confident.”

”I’m right.”

“On your mark, 

Get set,

Go!”

Hinata tripped.

All his classmates rushed ahead, not stopping as they crammed their way through the extremely narrow tunnel.

“Damn!” Hinata cursed, struggling to catch up. 

  
  
The shortest person, Yachi, was getting crushed alive by everyone in the tunnel.

”Looks like everyone’s getting stuck in the one-way tunnel!” Akiteru chuckled, displaying a video of it on the audience screens. “I wonder who has a good enough quirk for wedging their way through this?”

Tsukishima merged with the wall, running past all the people and popping out the other side, leaving everyone behind.

”Tsukki!” Yamaguchi called, but Tsukishima couldn’t hear him.

“Looks like Kei is the first to clear the tunnel!” Saeko announced.

“Go, Kei!” Akiteru cheered. There was a smack heard on the speaker.

Tsukishima scowled as he ran ahead. 

“Damn it, move!” Tanaka pulled out a purple flare as someone jumped on his head. “Hey!”

  
Daichi felt a foot on his shoulder, but it was gone the second it landed.

Kunimi gracefully jumped on top of people, skipping over them like a rock on a pond. He cleared the tunnel and hurried to find Tsukishima.

“Looks like Akira Kunimi from the hero course has also cleared the tunnel!” Saeko said. “They’ll have to try and catch up to our two front runners!”

Hinata ran back, planting his feet, far behind the rest of the group.  


_ Approach! _

“Looks like Bokuto Koutarou is up next, followed closely by Kuroo Tetsurou.”

“Get off me!” Bokuto shouted, shaking his wings. Kuroo stuck out his tongue, holding on tightly to Bokuto’s ankle. 

“Thanks for the lift, Bokuto!” he called, letting go and running on ahead.

“Damn you!” he cursed, flying forward.

Hinata started running.

“Looks like Daichi Sawamura and Kiyoko Shimizu are emerging, but look!”

Hinata jumped, flying over the entire tunnel and tumbling to the ground, but he picked himself up and continued running.

“Look at that! Shoyo Hinata cleared the entire tunnel in one fell swoop!”

“Get back over here!” Kageyama cried, pushing forward and running to catch up.

Tsukishima skidded to stop, a giant robot looming over him. 

“Not a quick thinker, are you?” Kunimi smirked, not stopping as he slid through the legs of the robot, proceeding onward.

“You little—“ Tsukishima grumbled, chasing after him. 

The robot in front of him slammed into the ground, breaking the path in front of him. Tsukishima watched as Kunimi slowly vanished from his line of sight. 

“With that setback, it looks like the rest of the group caught up with Kei! How will they catch up to Kunimi?”

Hinata smiled. “So long, Stingyshima!”

Hinata jumped over the heap of metal, getting ready to land when a large boom knocked him off balance.   
  


Kageyama flew sideways, landing to the side of the small area as Asahi ran ahead, muttering “Sorry” to everyone as he passed by.

The students were scattered around the area, the robot stunned.

“Looks like Asahi Azumane from the support course has taken out all his competitors in one attack!” Akiteru exclaimed. “I hope they’re all okay...”

Kindaichi and Yachi, who were in last place, were the least affected by the sound wave and continued on as normal. Picking himself up, Hinata charged ahead.

Asahi took a deep breath before slowly grabbing on to the tape, crawling across the cliff. Kindaichi followed him, but the pace was extremely slow. 

Yachi ran forward, eyes shut tightly, but her delicate steps allowed her to seemingly float across the tightrope.

“Looks like Hitoka Yachi has passed the group!” Saeko shouted. The audience covered their ears again. 

“Yachi, huh?” Kiyoko smiled, following her. 

Hinata got up, leading the rest of the first years who had fallen behind. Asahi had stunned the robot, which removed one of the obstacles. 

Kageyama and Hinata both dashed across the tightrope, both males having exemplary balance. Yamaguchi kept his hands on his shoulders, keeping himself upright.

Inuoka copied Hinata’s motion, as Lev floated himself across by riding his flesh.   
  


“Hey, that’s cheating!” Bokuto accused.

”Look who’s talking!” Lev retorted.

Slowly, the rest of the heroes rushed forward.

“I see him!” Hinata cried, spotting Kunimi in the distance. Yachi’s breathing was bad, but she wasn’t giving up her lead.

“Minefield.” Kageyama muttered. 

Everyone stopped, except Bokuto, who flew over the entire minefield.

“It’s not going to be that easy!” Iwaizumi shouted, throwing Lev’s flesh on to Bokuto’s wings. 

  
Lev landed, massaging his arms. “Hey!” 

Bokuto slowly started descending, trying to find out the perfect place to land. “Damn you—!” 

The mines exploded, sending him far back. 

Hinata stood firm. “Come on!”

Slowly, the rest of the group took their time getting across. There was an explosion here and there, but it was a clean experience. 

“Everyone is neck and neck!” Saeko cried. “Who will make it out on top?!”

“Do you hear that?”

Hinata looked at Koganegawa, who was looking forward. 

“Are you kidding me?” Kindaichi asked, exasperated. 

There were three more robots, standing at the end of the corridor. 

“We’ll have to fight and worry about these mines.” Futakuchi grumbled. “Damn.”

“We can’t give up now!” Goshiki exclaimed. “Push!”

The explosions became more frequent as Hinata pushed ahead, letting his smell and hearing guide him forward. 

“Thirty minutes left!”

Hinata tightened his muscles, charging forward and ignoring the explosions behind him. Inuoka watched, then mirrored the movements. 

Kageyama pulled up next to him. “I won’t let you win this!”

”They’re so far ahead!” Kuroo sighed, fending off against a robot.  
  


Kunimi grit his teeth, watching Kuroo’s back. “Stupid...!”

“Kaaageeeyaaamaaa!”

“Hinataaaaa!”

They both reached for the finish line, their fingertips crossing it, both of them rocketing past the end point and falling on to the grass. 

“First place: Hinata Shoyo!”

Hinata collapsed panting, as he smiled at the sky. “Yes! YES!”

“Close second is Kageyama Tobio! And look—there’s Inuoka Sou!”

Inuoka clapped Hinata on the back. “You did great!”

“Thanks...” he panted,shaking his hand. He turned to Kageyama, a tired smile on his face.

He smiled back. 

Bokuto ran, Kuroo hot on his trail. 

“Get away from me!” Bokuto cried, but Kuroo smiled cheekily. 

“Nah, I think I’ll do this.”

Bokuto suddenly stopped, darkness surrounding him. 

“Tetsurou...!” he seethed, trying to wander in the dark. The darkness faded as Kuroo passed the finish line. 

“And we have Tetsurou Kuroo in fourth, with Bokuto Koutarou right behind him! Fifteen minutes left!”

Yamamoto blew up one of the robots, allowing Kiyoko and Tanaka to pass.

”Wow, just _use_ me like that. I see.” Yamamoto grumbled, chasing after them.

”Next: Kiyoko Shimizu. She’s closely followed by Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Yamamoto Taketora.”

“Nice going, Shimizu.” Kuroo complimented, helping her up. She smiled. 

Kogane finished next, followed by Ushijima, Tsukishima, Kindaichi, Hanamaki, Matsukawa, and Goshiki.

“There’s still a few stragglers out there, but there’s only five minutes on the—oh look, there’s Yaku Morisuke and Yamaguchi Tadashi! And Lev Haiba’s behind them!”

“Who’s left?” Hinata asked, as Iwaizumi passed the finish line. “Hey, he’s pretty far behind.”

“He’s still recovering, idiot.” Kageyama barked. “I don’t remember who’s coming in.”

Nishinoya jumped on Aone’s shoulders, diving past him and to the goal. Futakuchi sighed, patting Aone on the back as he too passed him. 

“Thirty seconds!”

Asahi strode past the goal, panting.

Kunimi glanced to the side, pulling himself out of the rubble caused by Yamamoto’s explosion.  


Yachi pulled a rock off of Kunimi, dust staining her bright hair.   
  
  


“We...go...” she coughed, helping him stand. They both took off, exhaustion starting to overwhelm them.

“Ku...Kunimi...” she panted, pulling ahead. 

Kunimi watched the blonde falter, although only for a few seconds. Before he knew it—

“Don’t get in my way.”

Kunimi elbowed her in the face, sending her tumbling back. One of the robots turned to face her. 

“K..K...” she breathed, unable to stand up. 

“Yachi!”

She saw a figure grab her hand, forcing her legs to move forward. 

“Daichi...” she muttered, and the older man smiled. “We’re almost there.”

“Kunimi passed the line—TIME’S UP!”

Daichi slowed down, inches before the finish line. He stared at the red line, the tip of his shoe less than a step away. “Ah.”

“Daichi!” Futakuchi exclaimed, running over. “What happened?!”

The captain gave him a reassuring smile. “You got no time to worry about me. I’m sorry.”

“Daichi failed?” Hinata asked, staring at him. “And Yacchan too...”

”She was doing so well—what happened?” Kogane asked himself.

”Yamamoto’s explosion. It was a small area.” Kiyoko answered. She turned to the boy with a look of reassurance. “I don’t blame you. We all tried to win.”

Yaku gave Daichi a reassuring thumbs up. “We’ll fight on.”

Daichi smiled. Yachi teared up.

”S-Sawamura...I...”

Daichi pat her on the back consolingly. “You have next year.”

“Looks like Daichi Sawamura and Yachi Hitoka are eliminated—I wonder how that happened...” Saeko muttered, disappointment in her voice.

Akiteru chuckled awkwardly. “Let’s not dwell on it. The second part is coming up.”

Daichi helped Yachi stand, the girl’s legs wobbling. Slowly, she made it towards one of the exits.  


Yachi turned around one last time, and met eyes with Kunimi.

Their gaze was intense. Yachi’s eyes reflected betrayal, and regret.

He smiled, cold and mysterious.


	6. Cavalry Battle

“Yachi-“ Yamaguchi called, but Tsukishima put a hand on his shoulder. The taller male shook his head.

Yamaguchi looked away. “She trained so hard...and she failed just like that? There’s no redemption...?”

”That’s just how it is, Dashi.” Kuroo replied, hand on his hip as Daichi turned around the corner. “Yachi has next year.”

Hinata’s expression remained grim. “Yacchan...”

  
“We’re not stopping because someone failed!” a voice boomed.

  
The students jumped, turning behind them to see a blonde proctor, standing in front of another electric board.

“My name’s Yusuke Takinoue, and I’m the next proctor!” he shouted, the electronic board behind him lighting up.

Hinata stared, confused. It looked like a three-man piggy back ride. “This is our challenge? It looks like a game.”

”So much touching.” Tsukishima grumbled. “Ew.”

Takinoue smiled, slapping the device. “The infamous cavalry battle!

“Cavalry?” Lev questioned.

”Like, a horse?” Goshiki added.

”Isn’t cavalry more like knighthood?”   
  


“That’s chivalry. Calvary is—“

“Shut up and let me explain!” he cried. Goshiki and Lev jumped. He pointed up at the large screen. “Teams of 3 to 4 will team up and try to take headbands!”

Shimada and and another blonde proctor began handing out headbands. The blonde one had a cigarette in his mouth as he quickly disappeared after his task was complete.

_The white ones from before!_ Hinata thought. 

“Depending on what place you came in, you get points. Snatch a headband for more points! The headband must start on your head, but can be moved to an easily accessible place.”

The board lit up, the contestant’s face next to their point value. “Last place gets 5, next one gets 10, so on, so forth...hm. Am I forgetting something...?”

“115.” Kageyama read, turning to Hinata. “It’s not that far a gap.”

“Did I mention, first place gets ten million points?” Yusuke asked, scratching his chin. “Well, the more you know.”

The atmosphere shifted drastically.

Everyone turned to Hinata as he flipped his headband over. Sure enough, the seven zeroes following the one read ten million.

“Only one person gets a headband, combining all the teammates scores. That person is the rider, and everyone else has to carry them to victory. There’s thirty minutes before times up. You have ten minutes to make teams-go!”

And with that, the timer started.

“Kageyama—“ Hinata started, but his friend was already marching away. 

Kageyama turned and smirked. “I’m going to beat you.”

Hinata sighed in despair.

“Do you fight to steal the ten million or defend to keep the ten million?”

Hinata turned around to see Hanamaki smirking. “You win no matter what, even if it’s the only band you have.”

“Hanamaki-san...”

“And if your team can attack or defend properly, you’ve won.” he said, giving Hinata his headband. “Well, we’ll stick with you this time, shrimp.”

“We?” Hinata repeated.

“Me and Mattsun! We’re a package deal! Oi, Mattsun, get over here!”

Matsukawa shuffled over. “I just got a recruitment deal. You want to team with this guy?”

Hinata stood firm. “I won’t let you down.”

Matsukawa smiled. “I’ll hold you to that.” 

Hinata took his headband. “One more person!”

“Hinata Shoyo.”

The three of them turned around to see Ushijima looking down on them. “I see you need one more comrade.”

“You’ll join us?” Hanamaki asked.

“I believe with my quirk we should be able to hold off any attackers.” he answered, giving Hinata his headband. “I will not disappoint.”

”Damn, you caught a big fish!” Matsukawa joked. “You’ve got three third years. You better not screw up”

Hinata nodded, tearing up. “I got it!”

He dashed over to Shimada, who took a look at each of the headbands. He scrawled a new number on a fresh one, and gave it back to him. “Good luck!”

When he returned, he offered the handband to Matsukawa.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“The rider. You’re on top, aren’t you?”

Hanamaki chuckled. “You’re on top, little guy.”

Hinata stared. “Huh?”

“You’re the lightest, and you have the fastest reflexes. Of course you’ll be the rider.” Ushijima responded. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Yes. Obvious.” Hinata replied quickly, putting the band over his head. “Right.”

  
“Strategy is everything in this kind of battle. Anyone got a plan?” Matsukawa addressed.

Hanamaki smiled cheekily, giving his friend a wink. ”Leave it to me.”   
  


——————

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi called, but the blonde strode right past him. “Hey, Tsu—“

“Bokuto-san, Kuroo-san.” Tsukishima said. “Let’s compromise.”

”Oho? Four-eyes wants someone like us on their team?” Kuroo mocked, patting him on the head. “What’s in it for us?”

Tsukishima’s eye twitched. “What do you mean, ‘ _what’s in it for you’?”_

Then he smirked cockily. “I wouldn’t ask you morons unless I had a surefire plan to win.”

Bokuto smiled, matching Tsukishima’s craftiness. “I’m intrigued.”

“Tsukki...” Yamaguchi muttered, but the blonde was deep in conversation at this point.

“Freckles, is it?” Futakuchi asked, walking over. “Lonely?”

“That is—“

“I need one more person, if you don’t mind. Wanna come?”

“I—Tsukki—“

Yamaguchi looked back as he saw his friend wave Kunimi over to his group. Yamaguchi sighed. 

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Futakuchi shook his hand, leading him over to Lev and Yaku. “We’ll snag the shrimp’s headband and leave. Freckles, you’ll stop us from collapsing.”

Yamaguchi nodded.

”Cake-skin, you’ll...”

—————

“Ko—Ka—Kanekogawa...” Kageyama tried.

“Nope. Ko-ga-ne-ga-wa.” he corrects. “What’s up?”

“Uh...Team.” Kageyama answers awkwardly. “Team with me.”

“Sure!”

“I think with our skills— _sure_?”

“Yeah! You’ve got the most points, so I’ll join you! You must be pretty good, after all. Hey, Goshiki! Kageyama says we can join his team!”

Goshiki huffed, yanking his arm away from Kogane’s reach. “We’re not on a team anymore, Kogane.”

“But—but it’s but it’s Kageyama!”

”We’ll be only after the ten million.” Kageyama convinced. “Besides, with your ability to make shuriken, you’re an unbelievably powerful asset. We might be able to beat even Ushijima.”

Goshiki’s eyes went wide, and then he immediately looked away to hide his face. “Well, if you’re after the ten million...I suppose we could fight alongside each other...”

Kageyama grinned slightly as Kogane and Goshiki did a fist bump.

”Five minutes!”

”Are there any more stragglers?” Kogane asked.

White hair caught Goshiki’s eye. “Kageyama, over there!”

Kageyama nodded, jogging over to the remaining student. 

“Aone-san.” Kageyama greeted, bowing. Aone returned the gesture. “Are you alone?”

Aone nodded, eyes fixed on Hinata.   


”Are you interested in Hinata?” Kageyama asked. “We’ll be focusing on him. He’s a guaranteed victory.”

”It’ll be beneficial!” Kogane added, smiling.

”This isn’t a marketing commercial.” Goshiki sighed. “But, Aone-san, you will be a powerful front horse.”

Aone looked at the ginger, smiling brightly as he strategized with his team. His face reminded stony.

“Aone-san, please.”

The older male got up, nodding.

Kageyama turned to his team. “Listen up.”

——————

Iwaizumi strode over to Asahi, who quickly looked away.

”Don’t be like that.” Iwaizumi ordered. “Let’s work together, shall we?”

”That’s...I don’t know. I don’t want to drag everyone down...”

”What he means is, ‘we’ll join ya’!” Nishinoya butted in, patting Asahi on the back. He gave Iwaizumi a confident thumbs up. “Bokuto speaks so highly of you.”

Iwaizumi smiled. “Thank y—“

”But.” Nishinoya interrupted. “You were _way_ behind in the race. Why should we help you if you’re going to drag us down?”

The smile faded as quickly as it came. “Listen here, you little runt...”

”Hey hey, let’s not fight!” Kindaichi tried, holding Iwaizumi back. He looked up at Nishinoya, a pleading look in his eyes. 

“Yeah, there’s not much time left!” Asahi reminded. “Let’s all just work together, okay?”

Nishinoya nodded. “Bokuto says you’re amazing, so I’ll believe him. But you’ll have to prove it to me!”

Iwaizumi held out his hand. “I’ll do more than that.”

Nishinoya grinned, then shook Iwaizumi’s hand confidently. “We’ll see.”

——————

“We’ll help you, Kiyoko-san!” Tanaka reassured, bowing to her with Yamamoto.

Kiyoko chuckled slightly. “There’s no need for that. Your support is welcome, but I’m no goddess.”

”Maybe in your eyes.” Yamamoto said, hand on his chest. “But to us, you’re greater than a goddess.”

Tanaka put a hand to his heart. “I swear we’ll help you win!”

”Yeah!”

Kiyoko bowed in return, and the two boys gasped. “I look forward to working with you.”

“Got room for one more?”

——————

“Everyone, to their starting positions!”

The three third years hoisted Hinata up. Hinata looked at his opposition, ready.

Kageyama tied the headband (260), taking a deep breath as Koganegawa and Goshiki stared him down. Aone stayed firm.

“Scary...” Hinata murmured. 

“Hot stuff. You know we only have to defend, right?” Hanamaki reminded, snapping his fingers to get his attention. “We’ve already won.”

“Right.”

Hinata exhaled, letting adrenaline pump through his system. 

“Don’t get overzealous, kid, you’ve got a ten million point bounty on your head.” Matsukawa said.

“10,000,190.” Ushijima corrected. 

“Yeah, yeah. Details.”

“Ready?” Takinoue shouted, lifting the air pistol up. “Start!”  
  


_ Pop! _

“Don’t hesitate!” Kageyama ordered, and his “horse” started charging towards Hinata.

“Gah! So soon?!” Hinata yelped.

  
“Sorry, Shoyo!” Nishinoya called, rushing towards him.   
  


“No hard feelings!” Inuoka apologized, lifted by Tanaka and Yamamoto.   
  


Ushijima grunted, increasing the gravity around him. All the attackers stopped in their tracks.

Kageyama grit his teeth. “Aone-san!”

Aone nodded in confirmation, and a large iron wall grew in front of the group. It began to tip over, shadowing Hinata’s group.   
  


“They’re gonna get crushed!” Akiteru exclaimed. “Run!”

“Oi, oi—get away!” Hanamaki cried, the gravity decreasing. Ushijima used the lightness of his teammates to float away, landing delicately. 

Hinata ducked as a shuriken flew over his head. It boomeranged around, and Hanamaki blew it away, but Kageyama kept the pressure on. Three more landed right in front of Hanamaki, causing him to slip. 

“So aggressive!” Matsukawa said in amazement, wrapping his arm around Hanamaki’s leg and stabilizing his footing. “I thought they’d try a different, smarter approach.”

“Watch out for Kageyama’s throwing things!” Hinata instructed. 

Kogane touched the wall Aone had made, turning it into a hook. “For phase one!”

“Right.” Kageyama thanked, picking it up. 

“Onward!” Iwaizumi shouted.

Futakuchi raised his arm in command. “After the brat!”

Asahi clapped his hands, sending a large sonic boom through the entire arena. 

Ushijima winced, taking the full force of Hinata’s body into his face. Matsukawa grabbed his ankle, keeping him on top of the horse.   
  


Futakuchi tipped back, Yaku’s feet sliding on the floor. Yamaguchi kept them both steady.

”Thanks, Freckles.” Futakuchi said, eyes not wavering from Hinata.   
  


Goshiki and Kogane kept Kageyama upright, and Bokuto blocked the force with his wings.

”Kuroo-san, now!”

Everything went black. 

“Hey, what is this?” Hinata asked, looking around. He could barely see his hands with enhanced vision, and anymore increase would destroy his retinas.

“Kuroo’s quirk.” Matsukawa answered, listening. “Listen closely. You might be able to hear his footsteps.”

Hinata listens. He listens...but nothing.

“Nothing.” He whispered. “Nothing at all.”

”What the hell is this?” he heard Tanaka cry.

”It’s so dark!”

”Is everyone okay?”

”Can you see anything, Tanaka?”

”No one has _died,_ right?”

Hinata felt a nimble hand graze his forehead, ripping the cloth off. “Hey, someone took my headband!”  
  


The same hand pushed him backwards, causing him to tip over. “Whoa!”

Matsukawa grabbed Hinata’s ankle. “Where? When?”

“Just...just now! They ran behind me!”

“Unless we get rid of this stupid darkness, we can’t do anything!” Hanamaki snapped. “Ushijima! Make us lightweight!”

“Right.”

Hinata suddenly felt floaty, and soon, they were flying.

“Flying?!”  Hinata exclaimed. Hanamaki grinned.

Using his quirk, he kept a constant stream of air coming from his palms, allowing them to float. “Cool, eh?”  


They floated above the darkness field, the entire area just covered with a dome of pure black.

”Looks like Team Hinata came out of the darkness!” Saeko pointed out. “But they’re missing their headband, too...”

A pink flare went off. 

“Tanaka-san!” Hinata gasped. More colored flares emerged. 

“They’re still at it, but they can’t see.” Matsukawa laughed.   
  


A glob of flesh flew out of the darkness, coming straight at the group. Matsukawa caught it.  


“Isn’t this Lev’s?” Hinata questioned, then it blinked at him. “Hey!”

”So you’re missing it too, huh?” Futakuchi sighed, emerging from the flesh. He grabbed on to Matsukawa’s wrist.

Matsukawa dropped the flesh in surprise. “What the hell’s your limit for your quirk?!”

“You don’t have your headband? Dammit.”

Futakuchi dropped down, a glob of flesh catching him. 

“Lev and Futakuchi. So annoying.” Hanamaki groaned.

“Darkness. How do we stop this?” Ushijima reminded.

Hanamaki yawned. “Yeah, my hands are cramping.”

“We have to stop Kuroo.” Hinata said, thinking. “Where even is Kuroo?”

“Shall we go with the force option?” Ushijima asked, the group slowly descending. 

“Kunimi’s Silence is saving them right now. We have to do this smarter.” Matsukawa articulated. “Besides...”

Their team turned to the board, revealing five minutes left.  
  


_ Team Tsukishima: 10,001,380 _

_ Team Hinata: 0 _

_ Team Kageyama: 0 _

_ Team Futakuchi: 0 _

_ Team Inuoka: 0 _

_ Team Nishinoya: 0 _

Hinata wracked his brain. ”What do we do?”  
  


—————

Tsukishima stayed low, listening to Kuroo’s words. 

“Don’t go straight, you’ll run into Inuoka’s team. Just stay here.” Kuroo instructed, and Tsukishima obeyed.

”Talk about a cheap plan!” Bokuto exclaimed, but then he chuckled. “I can’t believe it worked.”

  
“Where’s Kageyama?” Kunimi asked.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes, flipping one of the headbands inside out. “Why does it matter?”

Bokuto felt Kunimi lower Tsukishima a bit. “Hey, keep him elevated. We’ll never know when someone will show up.”

”Yeah, sorry.” he replied, his voice deep.

Kuroo looked around, his eyes widening. “Tsukki—!”

Tsukishima’s right side shook, as Kuroo took a step back, cursing incoherently. 

The darkness went down, and Kuroo rubbed a bruise from his face. 

“Someone hit the caster of the darkness! We can actually see what’s going on!” Akiteru bursted excitedly. 

Saeko laughed heartily. “It looks like the blueberry-haired brat landed a direct hit.”

“How did he find you?” Bokuto asked, and Kuroo spat out blood on the ground.  
  


“Kageyama nailed you, didn’t he?” Kunimi asked.

”We’re not losing because he did that.” Kuroo snarled. “I’m not _that_ weak.”

“Three minutes!” Takinoue shouted.

“No one has any headbands.” Shimada chuckled. “The next round will be incredibly quick.”

“And one sided.”

The two men laughed. 

“Not yet!” Kageyama cried, throwing several objects. Lead balls, ninja stars, metal darts. 

A large gust of wind blew all the projectiles away. They hit the ground, clinking and clattering.

Bokuto smiled. “It won’t be that easy!” 

Ushijima lowered the team to the ground, where all chaos broke loose. “We must act quickly.”

“Speed!” Hinata agreed. “Let’s hurry!”

“Hold your horses, ginger. Let your upperclassman give you an idea.” Hanamaki said, a grin on his face.

  
—————

“Go, Nishinoya!” Iwaizumi cried, and on cue, Kindaichi dropped Tsukishima’s team into a hole. 

Tsukishima tch’ed as Nishinoya’s team ran by, snatching the headband on top. Their team rose on the leaderboard. 

“140 points! Not enough to win, but enough to secure a spot in the next round! One minute!”

“Defend!” Iwaizumi ordered, and the group backed off as Tsukishima’s team rose again. “Asahi!”

Asahi stomped against the ground, creating a shockwave.   
  


“Bokuto!” Kuroo yelled, and the winged male used the wind generated by his wings to cancel out the wave. Nishinoya’s team retreated promptly.

Iwaizumi laughed, the orange hair of his student catching his eye.   
  


_ What the hell? _ Iwaizumi thought, watching Hinata get off the horse and into Hanamaki.

“We can’t mess this up!” Matsukawa pressured, helping Hinata sit in Hanamaki’s arms. “Don’t drop him, or we lose!”

Hanamaki sent him a dirty glare. “I got him.”

“Bokuto-san!” Tsukishima called.

“Right!”

Bokuto flapped his wings, blowing Kageyama’s projectiles away. 

An object rolled by Tsukishima’s feet. 

“What the—?”

”Look alive, beanpole!”

It exploded, sending Tsukishima’s horse falling apart.

”Yamamoto just tried to blow them up!” Goshiki gawked, waving smoke away.   
  


”Now’s our chance!” Kogane said, and Kageyama nodded.

Kunimi jumped away, steadying himself. “Tsukishima!”

“Stay alive, Tsukki!” Kuroo shouted.  


Tsukishima grabbed on to Bokuto’s hand, lowering him back down as one of the headbands slid off.

Inuoka caught it, smiling.

“Looks like Team Inuoka snagged the 10 million!” Akiteru announced excitedly. 

“Thirty seconds!” 

“Okay kid, ready? Snag us the win.” 

“Right!”

Kageyama ran towards Tsukishima, but the blonde dodged his arm. 

“You’ll have to try a bit harder than that!” Tsukishima mocked. 

Kageyama scowled, using his left hand to reach for one more headband. Tsukishima leaned back.

Kageyama reached for the headband again, revealing the hook.

“Kogane made it for me. You seem to use minimal movement to avoid attacks, so this should reach your half-assed dodges!” 

Kageyama ripped the headband off his neck. 380 points.

Futakuchi swiped at Tsukishima’s neck, but Kuroo blocked his arm.

”Nice try.” he smirked.

Yamaguchi extended his hand through Kuroo’s blind spot, his fingers reaching for one of the loose head bands.   
  


Tsukishima stared at him, his golden eyes piercing into Yamaguchi’s heart.

_ Do you really want to do that, Yamaguchi? _

Yamaguchi gulped, then pulled his hand back as they charged past Tsukishima.

”Again!” Yaku commanded.

“Ten seconds!”

“Fire!” 

Hanamaki pushed, sending Hinata flying forward. 

Kageyama watched in amazement.  


_This. This. He’s doing...the combo!_

Inuoka’s eyes widened as he barely had time to turn his head.

Hinata watched, as if it were in slow motion, as he grabbed and yanked Inuoka’s headband off his neck.  
  
  


“Go!”

“Get him!”

Hinata watched as his arms slowly approached the “out” line.

“ _Mattsun_!”

Matsukawa’s arm extended, wrapping around Hinata’s calf and yanking him back forecefully. Hinata winced.   
  


Inuoka turned his horse around. “We have to get it back!”

”Defend!” Hanamaki ordered.

“After him!” Kageyama roared.

”At least one...!” Yaku cried.   
  


”Don’t let anyone come close!” Tsukishima commanded.   
  


Every team moved accordingly, Kageyama running towards Hinata.

Futakuchi running to Tsukishima.   
  


Inuoka charging at Hinata.   
  
  


Nishinoya’s hair crackling.

_“Time!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this out, this chapter was hard to write.
> 
> Anyways, I’ll probably be taking a little break again. Trying to write this is exhausting, especially since AO3 is being a pain with the formatting of the chapters. I can’t guarantee I’ll be back soon, but I’ll definitely keep writing this.


End file.
